Cleopatra Entertainment has announced a summer release for the long-awaited documentary Di’Anno: Iron Maiden’s Lost Singer. The film is a raw, close-up look at the life and late-career fightback of Paul Di’Anno, the pioneering Heavy Metal voice heard on Iron Maiden’s first two landmark albums.
Directed by Wes Orshoski (Lemmy and The Damned: Don’t You Wish That We Were Dead), the film follows Di’Anno through the final chapter of his story, capturing the personal lows, the stubborn humour, and the people around him who refused to let him disappear.
Around the mid-2010s Di’Anno became wheelchair-bound, and his health deteriorated further during the Covid-19 pandemic. The documentary charts how two devoted Iron Maiden fans found him at a bleak point, launched a crowdfunding effort, and helped relocate him to Croatia, where a combination of support and medical care sparked a dramatic turnaround.
Along the way, Orshoski’s cameras follow Di’Anno as he battles finances and setbacks, reconnects with former Maiden bandmates, and pushes for one last, dramatic return to the stage. The film also features appearances from James Hetfield (Metallica), Gene Simmons (Kiss), Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris, and members of Exodus, Slayer, Megadeth, Overkill and Sepultura.
Orshoski began filming in 2017 and completed the documentary shortly before Di’Anno’s death at the age of 66 in October 2023. Shot across England, Croatia, Brazil and the United States, Di’Anno: Iron Maiden’s Lost Singer has already screened at European film festivals and will be released worldwide on streaming platforms, as well as on DVD and Blu-ray.
In October 2025, a special screening took place at the famous Cart & Horses, the birthplace of Iron Maiden. Here, MetalTalk saw that the imagery is graphic, even medieval, but never gratuitous. Its honesty is what makes it necessary. Amid the brutality, there are flashes of tenderness, such as a doctor helping Paul preserve his dignity during physiotherapy.
Despite everything, Paul Di’Anno’s determination to perform never faltered. Throughout the film, we see his humour, melancholy, bravado and vulnerability co-existing in equal measure. This film is a must-watch.
